Meet Julietta - Our Newest BACT Blogger!

We are excited to introduce you to Julietta, who is joining our BACT Blogging cohort!

Julietta is a Bay Area native.  She enjoys art, crafting, theater, nature, and outdoors. In 8 years of soaking up creative talents, she has found many outlets for her creative energy. Activities such as Rainbow Loom, 4-H classes, Lego building and cartwheels take up most of her time.

Each year, BACT Bloggers conduct exclusive interviews with performers, designers and other creative types behind our Main Stage shows. Look for Julietta's first blog post some time in November/December during our production of James & the Giant Peach!

Glad to have you as part of the blogging team, Julietta!

BACT Blogger Genevieve Visits Our Offices!

A few weeks ago, we were visited by BACT Blogger Genevieve! Genevieve has conducted several interviews for our blog before, so we thought it would be a treat to have her tour our offices and spend some time seeing what goes into making theatre for young audiences happen! Genevieve is 11 years old and in sixth grade at Kensington Hilltop School. She loves theater and has been going to productions since she was three years old. Genevieve enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and playing piano. She lives in Kensington with her parents and two younger siblings. Genevieve just played Hamlet in her school play. She thinks BACT is awesome and everybody who works there really inspires her!

If you are age 9 and up and interested in becoming a BACT Blogger, fill out an application today! We are accepting applications through September 30th for our 2014-2015 Season!

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     I got more and more excited as I pulled up to the Bay Area Children’s Theatre (BACT) office in Piedmont. A few summers before, I had been at the same building to put on the Youth Education Program version of Annie Jr. I looked around curiously at the small, cozy office filled with cluttered desks and posters of previous plays.
     Nina Meehan turned to say hello. As a child, Nina wanted to be the next Jane Goodall and play with chimpanzees. She had no idea that she was going to become an amazing executive director until much later. Nina was also one of the first people to start BACT, an idea that she and her friend came up with while working for a company that did productions for schools. Nina loves working with such great people to come up with an exciting line-up of shows to do in the next season.
     I also chatted with Rebecca Posamentier, the Youth Education Program Director. While in school at UCLA, Rebecca studied some theater, although acting isn’t what she ended up doing with BACT. Part of what Rebecca does do, though, is reach out to kids who don’t know about the Youth Education Program. They put notices about the next children’s performances in the playbills and talk about classes at the productions. Rebecca is friendly, outgoing, and enjoys using her talents with children.

     Min Kahng, the marketing manager for BACT led me down a short hallway to another little office where Eden Neuendorf, the associate producer, was working. Eden is a big part of putting on productions. She helps to find a script that fits the different locations and has a cast that will work well for the story. Eden also does a bit of hiring, as well as does the workshops for the school productions. Her favorite part of being associate producer, though, is how every day brings something different and comes with problem solving.
     Derek Travis Collard, who is the development director, walked in and shook my hand. I recognized him immediately from interviewing him as Frog in BACT’s Frog and Toad. He admitted that he preferred being an actor over development director because he’s been acting for so long (he was on Broadway at nine years old!), however being a development director has its highlights for sure. He loves meeting people who want to support BACT because he believes bringing theater to children is so important.
     Last, I spoke with Min Kahng, who I mentioned before. He’s the marketing manager for BACT. Before I started the interview, I had been wondering what a marketing manager does, exactly. Min explained that he partly does advertising, and partly helps the audience understand BACT. Before starting at BACT, he did ads for Safeway. When Nina was looking for somebody to be marketing coordinator, he volunteered. He was just promoted to marketing manager this year! However, he isn’t just a marketing manager. He first started at BACT in the year of 2008, as a pianist for The Emperors New Clothes. He also enjoys writing. Min’s most recent play that he has written for BACT was Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

     There are some really great shows coming up at BACT. Derek Travis Collard is very excited for The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane because he really enjoyed the book when he first read it. Both Min Kahng and Eden Neuendorf can’t wait for Three Little Birds. Eden loves it because of how colorful and happy it is. Min is excited because it is a unique and lesser known book. He thinks it’s cool how Bob Marley’s daughter wrote it!
     I noticed that all the desks in the office were personalized. I saw tons of posters over Eden’s desk, and Derek Travis had candy and toys. I saw pictures of families on almost every desk. I really liked that everybody seemed happy and comfortable in their work space.

     I had so, so much fun touring the office and talking to all these awesome people. I really love BACT! Special thanks to Min Kahng for organizing the whole thing, and to Nina Meehan, Rebecca Posamentier, Eden Neundorf, and Derek Travis Collard for letting me interview them.

BACT Spotlight On - Actor Andrew P. Quick

Bingo gets pestered by a squirrel.

Ladybug Girl & Bumblebee Boy, The Musical is causing quite the buzz at the Freight & Salvage! But with all this talk about bugs, let's not forget another key member of the Bug Squad - Bingo, the trusty Basset Hound! For this blog post, we interview Andrew P. Quick about what it was like to play this four-legged member of the Squad.

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BACT: Tell us a bit about your performance background. How did you get involved with theatre? Is theatre your main job, or do you have another job(s) as well?

Andrew: I began my theater career in the 4th grade as Uncle Albert in Marry Poppins, singing "I Love to Laugh."  And not much has changed since. I still love to laugh and make others laugh. In high school I was part of an improv troupe, and then I went to University of California, Santa Cruz and studied theatre. At UCSC I was a member of a long-form improv troupe and performed in many shows with the University and with Shakespeare Santa Cruz (now known as Santa Cruz Shakespeare). As a sophomore, I took a class in physical theatre and knew right away that this was what I wanted to do. I started a physical comedy troupe called Pi. Once I graduated I went to clown college in San Francisco with various members of Pi. Since then I have traveled throughout North America performing at festivals, circuses, corporate events, and on the street.

BACT: Is theatre your primary line of work?

Andrew: I have worked many jobs in the theatre. I worked as a carpenter for two years while in Santa Cruz. I then worked as a stage manager for Teatro ZinZanni for four years. Currently my main job is performing. I do some teaching and stage managing as well.

BACT: What did you go to get into the character of Bingo?

Andrew: I watched a lot of videos on YouTube. I then spent time watching my house mate's dog and dogs on the street. The most helpful thing I did was spend time with Murray. Murray is a honest-to-goodness Basset Hound. Lynn Eve, his trainer, was kind enough to bring him over and we spent an afternoon together. Lynn showed me pictures and videos, and we wandered to the dog park where Murray was in his element. I watched how he walked, ran, drooled, and interacted with other dogs and humans.

BACT: How would you describe the character Bingo?

Andrew: How would I describe Bingo: "Ruff, Ruff, Bow Wow, Ruff, Ruff, hooooooooooooooooooowl!"

BACT: Very insightful! What is it like playing an animal character - especially the only non-speaking, animal character on-stage?

Andrew: I love playing animal roles because it allows me to express my story with my body. Animals have very little sub-text, they act and do what needs to be done. I love being able to tell a story without words. Audiences can tell how I am feeling with a slight turn of the head or a quick movement. Since this play is a new work, the lines and songs where changing almost everyday, but not mine. My lines stayed the same and all I had to worry about was not being in the way.


BACT: What do you hope kids and their families take away from watching Ladybug Girl & Bumblebee Boy The Musical?

Andrew: I hope that our audiences leave laughing. I want to bring a smile to people's faces and leave them in a happier mood than when they came in, and not just the kids. When I took on this project, I told the director that I didn't just want the kids to laugh, but I wanted to make the parents, and especially the Dads, laugh. I want there to be something in the show for everyone, and I like to think we are doing just that. I think people are leaving our show with a smile on their face.

For tickets and more info on Ladybug Girl & Bumblebee Boy, The Musical, visit our website!

BACT Blogger Genevieve Interviews Actor Hugo Carbajal

We're getting a double dose of Genevieve this month, this time after an interview with Hugo Carbajal who plays the innocent and excitable Dragon in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: A Musical Adaptation. Genevieve is 11 years old and in the fifth grade at Kensington Hilltop School. She attended her first live theater performance at three years old. Genevieve also enjoys acting, particularly in musicals, playing the piano, writing, reading, traveling, and playing sports with her friends. She lives in Kensington with her parents and two younger siblings. Genevieve is currently playing the role of Hamlet in her school production.

If you are age 9 and up and want to write a blog about your experience with BACT, email nina@bactheatre.org.

 

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My Interview of Hugo Carbajal

By Genevieve Schweitzer, age 11

     I loved, loved, loved Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I really enjoyed the book when I read it last year, and I waited all year for this production. And all that waiting was worth it! The play was amazing!

     Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a story filled with Chinese folktales and in this production, each story was told in a different way—with puppets, singing, audience participation, and much more. The characters were able to bring all the stories together to tell one long story about being grateful for what you have in your life.

     The scenery, puppets, and costumes were very creative and I felt like the whole play stayed true to the book. I liked how this time there was live music, because it made me feel like I was sitting in China, listening to the stories. The acting was so great and there were lots of new, creative things, like rolling carts that carried the actors. There was a great scene where the goldfish jumps into the water and the cloth around her rippled as if she had really jumped into water. All the props in the play were used in interesting ways.

Actor Hugo Carbajal

     I was excited to interview Hugo Carbajal, who played Dragon. Dragon is a funny, sweet character who befriends the main character, Minli. Hugo did a great job showing Dragon’s kind personality. His costume was simply worn, but very dragon-like and in the end it was an important part of the story.

     Hugo loved the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. His favorite part of the play is when Ba is listening to his goldfish and Ma thinks he is cleaning his ear in the water. He also likes Minli and Dragon’s sweet interactions. He has never been in a Bay Area Children’s Theatre production before, but has made masks for the company.

      Hugo’s favorite play that he has ever been in was a shadow puppet play with short stories about immigration. The first play that he ever saw was Dracula. He was in tenth grade at the time and had never really been into theater, but when he saw this production, he thought it was fun and exciting. Now he has been acting for about twenty years.

     Hugo Carbajal has been in many plays, and one of his most challenging was a Greek mythology production where he was Orpheus, the lead role. He found this play to be extra hard.

Dragon (Hugo Carbajal) befriends Minli (Grace Ng)

     Hugo gave me a tour of the backstage and showed me how everything worked. There were amazing puppets that clearly took a lot of work to make. I loved all the cool props and being backstage felt really exciting. While I was looking around, I realized how different this play was from most. It had live music, cool backgrounds, and projectors that helped show things and make things feel super real. I loved all of it. Great job, everybody!

Thanks to everyone who helped put this awesome play together. It was obviously a big production that took a lot of work and the effort showed! A special thank you to Hugo Carbajal!

 

 

BACT Blogger Genevieve Interviews Actor Patricia Austin

To help celebrate the opening of Mercy Watson to the Rescue in Mill Valley this weekend, Genevieve found some time for an interview with actor Patricia Austin, who plays the porcine wonder herself! Genevieve is 11 years old and in the fifth grade at Kensington Hilltop School. She attended her first live theater performance at three years old. Genevieve also enjoys acting, particularly in musicals, playing the piano, writing, reading, traveling, and playing sports with her friends. She lives in Kensington with her parents and two younger siblings. Genevieve is currently playing the role of Hamlet in her school production.

If you are age 9 and up and want to write a blog about your experience with BACT, email nina@bactheatre.org.

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My Interview of Patricia Austin

By Genevieve, Age 11

Actor Patricia Austin

     Mercy Watson to the Rescue was so amazing! I loved the props, the scenery, the sound effects, the great acting, and the hilarious lines. The costumes were super creative, as always, and I liked how the audience got in on the act.

     This time I interviewed Patricia Austin, the actor who played Mercy. She was so, so funny! Patricia, also known as Trish, has been acting since she was five years old and was known for her good Western impersonations. Her first professional play that she was in was Charlie Brown, playing Sally, Charlie Brown’s sister

     Patricia has worked with Bay Area Children’s Theatre before in The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. She was specifically called in to play Mercy in Mercy Watson, which she was very excited and happy about.
 

Mercy Watson loves toast!

     Patricia doesn’t prefer being a funny or serious character in plays; it just depends on the script. All she focuses on is telling a good story. However, Trish especially likes the serious Shakespeare plays and has acted in many. As a matter of fact, if she could choose one play to act in it would be A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

     As an actor, you have lots of nerve-racking moments where you have to do some quick thinking and improvising. Patricia shared one of her most memorable improv moments. In college, her costume fell off during a Waltz. She had to turn it into part of the dance, and then quickly shimmy off the stage where the crew fixed it up.

     Trish likes acting for children and adults equally. “The thing about acting for children,” says Patricia, “is that it sometimes is their first time seeing a play, so it really has to change their world.”

     I enjoyed this play so, so much. Thanks to all those people who worked hard on this production, and a special thanks to Patricia Austin!

Writing Mountain - A Blog Post by Playwright/Composer Min Kahng

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon opens February 22

When I was asked to adapt Where the Mountain Meets the Moon into a stage musical, my initial thought was: “This is impossible.” Grace Lin’s book is intricate and poetic, with multiple stories intertwining. In codex form, this makes for an exciting reading experience. I found myself flipping back and forth throughout the book to remember certain characters or stories, and being delighted when I stumbled upon a new connection or revelation. Unfortunately, during a theatre performance, an audience member can’t flip through the scenes to remind themselves of previous occurrences. This problem of form initially seemed like a Herculean task – how can I even come close to the beautiful vignette-like structure of Lin’s work?

Then I realized that I was neglecting something fairly obvious. There is a through-line story in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and a very strong one. The character of Minli is going on a journey to change her family’s fortune. Though she meets a colorful array of characters along the way, each with their own stories, it is Minli who we follow and root for. There is also a secondary through-line which balances Minli’s incredible journey – the story of her parents. I started to see that focusing in on these two threads (rather than trying to highlight every story found in the book) would help keep a live audience engaged. This centered my writing, and it also became a benchmark for deciding which stories to include in our production. With each moment in the book, I’d ask “Does it directly serve the central story arcs of Minli and her parents?” If it does, then include it. If not, then let it go.

Of course, there was some major adjusting done along the way. Some plot points that seemed crucial turned out to be secondary. Others that seemed miniscule, ended up being key to help the audience’s understanding and appreciation of the story (Thank goodness for workshops with audience feedback!). And there were some moments in the book that needed to be altered in order to help with the flow of the musical.

Throughout the development process, I had very constructive meetings with director Mina Morita and dramaturg Oona Hatton. We became a “story team,” bouncing ideas off each other, trying new things, mulling over what the overall style and feel of the show would be. This gathering of strong-minded creative-types could have become a crucible of conflicts and disagreements, but I am amazed and quite proud of how the three of us discussed, listened to and experimented with ideas in a respectful (and often times jovial) environment. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: A Musical Adaptation is all the stronger, and I am a better writer because of these collaborators.

Now, halfway through Tech Week, I am even more amazed at the dedication that the cast, designers and creative team are bringing to the work. Actors, musicians, choreography, costumes, sets, props, sound and lights are all breathing life into the story. It is a quiet kind of joy to see something you’ve written being treated respectfully and taken seriously by other artists. I am thankful to be surrounded by folks who are so good at what they do. I am also thankful for the support my writing has received from Bay Area Children’s Theatre. I now think my initial statement about writing Mountain was correct, but with an added clause: “This is impossible without the help of others.” How appropriate, since this is also one of the key lessons Minli learns on her journey.

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Min Kahng is a playwright/composer living in the Bay Area. His previous works include Tales of Olympus: A Greek Myth Musical and The Song of the Nightingale. Kahng is also the Marketing Coordinator and a Youth Education Program Instructor for Bay Area Children's Theatre.

www.minkahng.com

BACT Spotlight On - Actor

In just a few days, Mercy Watson to the Rescue opens at the Freight & Salvage. This show is based upon the popular Kate DiCamillo book series, and features a loveable pig named Mercy who loves buttered toast. For this blog post, we got to interview the actor behind the pig, Patricia Austin.

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BACT: How did you begin getting involved with theatre?

Patricia: I have been doing some sort of theatre since I was wee: School plays, Christmas pageants, children's choir. But my first real audition was in the 5th grade for the Sound of Music with Little Town Players in Bedford, VA. I played Gretl and had the time of my life.  

BACT: Is theatre your main job, or do you have another job as well?

Patricia: I have ALWAYS had some sort of day job from waitressing to admin work until this past August.  Now I teach, costume and act. I still cobble things together, hustle for work and my calendar looks like a game of Tetris, but the work is all theatre-related and that makes me very happy.

BACT: What drew you to audition for Mercy Watson?

Patricia: I knew that BACT was having their generals but wasn't sure which show I wanted to focus on.  Then Melissa, the casting director, asked me to come in for Mercy Watson.  I read the play and the first book, and just went for it.  

BACT: Had you done children's theatre before this? 

Patricia: I came to the Bay Area from Chicago where I did a fair amount of children's theatre. My first production with BACT was The True Story of The Three Little Pigs.  Another pig role.  So maybe I have a calling for Children's stories about pigs?  Hmmmm . . .

BACT: Well, we're glad to have you playing this porcine wonder! How would you describe Mercy Watson? 

Patricia: I think she is a lovable character who LOVES!  She loves her family, she loves adventure and meeting new people, but most of all she LOVES TOAST? 

BACT: How are you similar to her?

Patricia: [I share] Her sense of play and adventure.  We also share a love for toast.  I just prefer mine with jam.

BACT: What is the best part about playing Mercy Watson? What challenges did you encounter? 

Patricia: The best part about playing Mercy Watson is that she is a lot of fun. She is high-energy and physical, and she is definitely not afraid. The biggest challenge at first was to figure out what Mercy means when she says "butter"or "toast"or "cookie".  Does she really want butter and toast all the time or is she also trying to convey other things using a limited vocabulary? So, early in the rehearsal process we made certain distinctions about when it was actually toast or when it was really something else.

BACT: Is it easy or difficult playing an animal character?

Patricia: Hmmmm.  I would say that that playing an animal character is more physically driven than textually driven, especially Mercy.  But as far as easier or hard I don't know.  You still have to make them real. And you still have to make people care about them.  So in the end, you still have the same challenges as when you are playing people.

BACT: What do you hope kids and their families take away from watching Mercy Watson to the Rescue.

Patricia: A deep and abiding love of toast!  And butter.  And live theatre!

BACT: Got any fun behind-the-scene stories?

Patricia: This cast and crew are the best! We have a lot of fun and are still collecting stories.  Early on in rehearsal we would crack each other up so much (from our "schmackting") that at the end of whatever scene we were rehearsing we would lovingly say "all the awards." 

BACT: If you're having that much fun in rehearsals, it sounds like we're in for a fun show! Thank you so much for your time!

Tickets for Mercy Watson to the Rescue are on sale now at our website!